Gartloch Hospital / Asylum
Opened 1889, Closed 1996
Gartloch Hospital is located on the Gartloch Road near
the village of Gartcosh. It was closed in 1996 after
serving patients for 100 years as a hospital. It is
now in the process of being redeveloped into a "luxury
village".
Gartloch Timeline:
1889: Gartloch Estate was bought by
the City of Glasgow for nearly £8,600 for the
Glasgow District Lunacy Board to build an asylum for
the poor people of the city.
1896: The first patients were admitted.
540 beds.
1899: The average number of patients
resident in the asylum during the year was 465 and comprised
236 males and 229 females.
1902: A tuberculosis sanitorium was
opened. It closed after World War II. During the War,
Gartloch was transformed into an Emergency Medical Services
hospital. Psychiatric patients were transferred to other
hospitals and a number of “temporary” hutted
wards built.
1904: 830 beds.
1948: Gartloch joined the National
Health Service and was placed under the Board of Management
for Glasgow North-Eastern Mental Hospitals.
1974: When the Greater Glasgow Health
Board was created in 1974 Gartloch was placed within
the Eastern District.
1990: 530 beds.
1993: Gartloch was under the Greater
Glasgow Community and Mental Health Services NHS Trust.
1996: Gartloch Hospital closed.
2003: Development work to turn Gartloch
into a luxury village begins.
Related websites:
Living in the margin - extract
...Gartloch hospital had a maze of corridors, which
branched out like bony fingers reaching to infinity.
I felt as if the real world itself has been exiled from
the premises, the clinic had taken over in its place.
It was sterile to the point that its totality had excluded
all ordinary life.
Looking at the day room, with its large square domain,
lit up by a front facing panel of windows, it is here
that I remember, (how can I forget ?) the whole room
packed with patients. It was not Bedlam as you may have
thought. There was no wailing or visible distress in
those that sat here. Instead around thirty adults with
mental and physical handicaps sat grouped together.
It was a sea of chrome contraptions illuminated in the
summer sun. Walkers, wheelchairs, sticks, and other
specialist equipment, some I had never seen before.
If a patient wished to move around within the confines
of the room, it was inevitable that a collision would
ensue. Those alone, not seeking companionship would
pace the passageways or attach themselves to their favourite
nurse. Those who could not walk sat. Those who could
not sit down, because of agitation, walked. Those who
could not speak sat silent. Those who could not stay
silent made noise. It was a complete jumble of individuals
with so many varying degrees of needs, that it would
appear difficult to direct any form of constructive
care towards them. And so the people sat, walked, talked
or did nothing that day and the next... read
on
View Gartloch Hospital Image Galleries
Your Memories
I was talking with my gran t'other night about Gartloch
(her maw died in there!) and she remembers these two
women that used to walk about when she went visiting.
One of them was about 4 foot nothing and the other about
6 foot. They walked up and down the hall, not saying
a word to each other, but every now and then the taller
one would repeatedly slap the little one on the head
(that story seemed funnier when my gran told it!). Im
sure theres more... I shall find out if anyones interested.
Crusty [30/01/2004]
The Pictures are great,it is nice to see someone take
an interest in a historical building in the Greater
Easterhouse area,the inscription on the grave read ,s
"I M Julius" Julius was a dog that belonged
to one of the doctors that practiced at Gartloch,I have
a picture of him taken about c1897,Gartloch was built
by Greek Thomson's son and is about to be redevelop
into a housing scheme.
Regards
Eddie [29/01/2004]
I was born and lived at 2280 Gartloch Rd (East Cottages)
of Gartloch Hospital. My Father, Bill Milne was the
Bacteriologist at Gartloch Hospital Laboratory. My Mother
was Helen and was the hospital hairdresser. My memories
of Gartloch are the most wonderful memories ever. We
had the most perfect childhood. The children of employees
were involved in lots of differant ways. I remember
especially the farm. Our house looked onto the busy
fields and the Bishop Loch. We spent many happy summers
pickinf tatties with the patients. And in the long cold
winters, skating on the Bishop Loch. Christmad parties
in the hospital involved all the staff, their children
and patients. We got to know many of the patients who
had been there most of their lives. Some had been admitted
the the unit because of ''having a child out of wedlock''
I have so many stories to tell this page is not big
enough! I would love to hear from anyone who remembers
Gartloch or who lived/worked there.
Pattie Milne [04/02/2004]
Gartloch was the place were the 'maddies' went, even
if that wis yer maw stretched oot oan a social prescription
a' chlorpromazine and diazepam tae stope her thinkin
aboot why she just looked oot the windae at the sun
goin oot.
the wee red room oan the tope of the tower wus were
the really mad bastards went.
ye could walk yer dug lookin fur frog spawn or something
else like that and hear the alarms goin aff and then
see the very expertualised nurses chasing a wanna be
freedom seeker across the fields.
as humans under the age of twelve, we used tae set
aff the fire alarms and watch the engines screaming
alang gartloch road 'bloody murder' until wi gote caught
an battered.
once we crawled underneath the corridors, opened a
hatch and surfaced mid corridor amidst the expert's
madness. they chased us tae the gates before we started
peltin them wi rocks.
they coudnae come oot across the gate cos they wid
lose aw their powers.
in winter the loch might turn tae ice, but ye heard
so many horror stories that ye never went far fae the
edge.
Scara [22/02/2004]
My wife and I lived and worked at GARTLOCH HOSPITAL
we lived at 1940 Gartloch Rd.from 1961 until 1967 when
we emigrated to Canada I was a student nurse staff nurse
and deputy charge nurse until I left we also remember
the staff ward parties and good fun times at the hospital
and raising our son there Also got to know alot of the
patients there It seemed to be a community all on its
own and many happy times were spent there.
David and Nan Parry [26/02/2004]
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